The DR. C.J. SYMONS scholarship was established in 1985 by the Diocesan Old Girls' Association in honour of Dr. Catherine Joyce Symons, headmistress of Diocesan Girls' School from 1953 to 1985. DOGA welcomes donations by old girls as well as other interested parties to maintain the DR. C.J. SYMONS scholarship.

Born in Shanghai, Dr. Symons came to Hong Kong at the age of two, and began her association with DGS as a pupil aged seven. She started as a teacher at the School in 1939. After the war, she was requested by Bishop Hall to return to Hong Kong from Macau in October 1945. Dr. Symons, then Miss Anderson, took over the School from the headmistress Ms Gibbons, who returned to England to recuperate after years of internment in the Stanley Camp. The School was one of the first to reopen, thus it was a great honour when Admiral Harcourt came to visit. Dr. Symons then served as an acting Headmistress in 1949. She became Headmistress in 1950 and served the school for 32 years before her final retirement.

Dr. Symons also served as the first woman on the Executive Council and the second woman on the Legislative Council and one of the few women on the Urban Council. As a Justice of the Peace, she carried on other civic duties. She was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Hong Kong University. Dr. Symons passed away peacefully at the age of 85 on 11 June 2004 in England.

In selecting the recipient for the scholarship, the Career and Scholarship Sub-Committee aims to select a candidate who best fulfills the qualities of a DGS girl as envisioned by Dr. Symons. Such qualities are set out in the following quote from her own memoirs, Looking at the Stars - Memoirs of Catherine Joyce Symons, "...we aimed to send out into the world, girls who were conscious of their wonderful heritage of Christian thought, Western democratic ideals and the classical culture of China and, because they remembered the School motto "Daily Giving Service", who would bring to our city the attributes of womanly patience, poise and gentleness, and innate toughness, in an age of much empty-headed noise and empty-hearted indifference."

The scholarship is awarded each year to a Sixth Form student of the Diocesan Girls' School for her university studies in Hong Kong or abroad. The award ceremony will be held at DOGA's annual dinner. The recipient will be presented with a certificate, DOGA life membership and a cheque of HK$20,000. Interviews with candidates are conducted during the summer holidays. Up to six candidates will be nominated by the Diocesan Girls' School each year. Each candidate needs to provide, through the School, her resume (including her personal and contact particulars, results from the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination and other public examinations administered by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority, details of any other university scholarships applied for or obtained and achievements in other fields such as music, sports or other hobbies) together with a covering letter to the Careers and Scholarship Sub-Committee of DOGA, and bring to the interview supporting information such as original certificates of public examination results.

For further information regarding donations to the DR. C.J. SYMONS scholarship, please contact the Careers and Scholarship Sub-Committee of DOGA, One Jordan Road, Kowloon or at doga@hongkong.com